VCU Libraries joins pioneering Open Library of Humanities

The Open Library of Humanities is an academic open-access publisher. The mission of this nonprofit is “to support and extend open access to scholarship in the humanities--for free, for everyone, forever.” A pioneering organization, it publishes seven electronic journals and has plans for more titles. Funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and support from an international library consortium covers expenses. This model precludes the need for author fees.

Based in Great Britain and founded in 2013, the Open Library of Humanities launched this financial model just one year ago and already has 135 academic partners. These libraries represent varied institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, Boston and Brandeis. Supporters include august international universities as well as small and large institutions in the states--from Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va., to VCU in Richmond, Va. More about partners.

Martin Paul Eve, Ph.D., a senior lecturer at the University of London and a founder and academic project director, welcomed VCU to the Open Library of Humanities. “There are benefits of open access that extend to all disciplines, but this requires models of implementation that are sensitive to disciplinary needs. With the help of institutions like Virginia Commonwealth University we will expand our model for open access in the humanities.”

"I am particularly proud to add Virginia Commonwealth University’s name to the distinguished group of libraries supporting the Open Library of Humanities,” said VCU University Librarian John E. Ulmschneider.

“Research libraries are changing the model of publishing in higher education. Working with front-line academics to provide alternatives to high-cost commercial publications is at the core of our strategy for advancing scholarly communication in the 21st century.”